Seven Visions
by Silverhare
Summary: Seven visions, seven versions of us. A collection of Fakiru-centric stories based on one-word prompts, with each entry taking place in a different AU.
1. Chapter 1: Funeral (Pushing Daisies AU)

Fakir took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself as he closed the door. It didn't work, so instead he tried to focus his attention on the natural patterns in the wood, all the scratches and smudges from all the people that had used it until now. He wasn't ready for this, not remotely; he needed time to prepare himself.

Three minutes and forty-four seconds later he decided that he wasn't ever going to be ready for this, so he might as well just get it over with. He took another deep breath and steeled himself for what he was going to see when he turned around.

He blinked. The coffin was so small that for a fleeting instant he wondered if he'd wandered into the wrong room. Could there have been a mistake, was this a dream, was this not really happening? Hope rose up in his heart before being quickly extinguished. No… this was no dream, though it felt like a nightmare, and he knew that he had the right room. There was nothing to stop this from happening, it was far too late for that. He'd been far too late to do anything _but_ this. Heart hammering with fear and dread and grief, Fakir walked slowly towards the coffin.

Five minutes and fifteen seconds after he entered the lonely, sunlit room, Fakir lifted the coffin's lid. His mind rebelled, not for the first time, as he saw the person lying inside it, and his heart broke all over again. He hadn't seen her in several years, but even if he hadn't looked at the picture that accompanied her obituary, he would have known her instantly.

"Ahiru…"

She looked so much like the girl in his memories, only older. Her hair was still that bright shade of orangey-red, reminiscent of coral, and there were more freckles across the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks. Her face had matured, but looked no less sweet and adorable; and she hadn't grown much at all, she was still tiny and petite, no wonder the coffin was so small. The only thing strange about her face was that she wasn't smiling. She'd _always_ been smiling back then, or almost always, anyway. And she was so _still_ - that didn't make sense either. She'd always been so energetic and on the move, it seemed wrong and unnatural for her to be lying here like this. This wasn't right.

The facts were these: the young ballet dancer and duck keeper before him had gone on vacation to a lakeside resort not too far from her hometown, staying in one of the cabins on the shore. It was there that she had met an untimely end, apparently drowning in the lake one night and washing ashore the next morning, where she was found by a rather horrified fellow guest. However, as she had been an excellent swimmer and there were signs of foul play, her wealthy aunt and only surviving relative was offering a hefty reward for catching her killer. Fakir had learned of the case when the private detective he worked with - as a sort of freelance consultant, or so the story he'd told the waiter he often trusted to take care of his pie restaurant while he was out went - brought it to him. She'd mentioned first the details of the case and then where the body of the victim was being prepared for burial, which turned out to be Fakir's former hometown. A feeling of horror and dread growing in his stomach, he'd asked what the unfortunate victim's name was, and only then had learned it was Ahiru, the girl who'd been his best friend while he lived in Gold Crown.

His eyes stung as he stared down at her. He hadn't cried in years, not since he'd left Gold Crown, but it didn't surprise him that he would do so now. All the years of closing himself off from emotions and walling himself away from people fled in the face of seeing Ahiru like this. This was _wrong_, he thought again, more wrong than anything he'd ever seen before. Ahiru? Drown? That couldn't be, she'd been the best swimmer in their neighborhood, and like it was yesterday he could hear her giggling and telling him that ducks couldn't drown. That had been one of their in-jokes, because she loved ducks and was a bit like one herself. No, someone had done this to her, someone had taken everything away from her. The tears started to blur his vision, and he stepped back so that none could fall on her. He could still see her, though, lying so motionless. He tried to will her to move, to breathe, to open her eyes and chirp a greeting to him, but she remained as she was, and he hid his face in his hands.

Nine minutes and thirty-nine seconds after closing the door, Fakir wiped his eyes and gathered enough of his composure to move back to Ahiru's side. He studied her face again, trying to decide where to touch her. A lump rose in his throat, and a million memories of their childhood tumbled through his head, each one stinging more than the last: the sound of her laughter, playing with their toys at each others' houses, exploring the patch of woods behind their homes and holding her little hand while they pushed through the foliage, feeding ducks together at the local pond. Library trips and school days and building snow people, swimming in the summer. The simple joy she took in the smallest things. Sleepovers in each other's rooms, complete with blanket forts and flashlights and late night stories, and the rapt expression on her face when it was his turn to tell a story. Watching her dance. The special, duck-shaped pillow she loved so, that was nearly as big as she was. Eating pie and drinking milkshakes that left mustaches on their faces that they'd giggle and blush and rub off for each other. Having breakfast together after those sleepovers, her little face still bleary with sleep until she'd gotten enough sugar in her. The special smile she seemed to save just for him. So many memories, ending with the last time he'd seen her: at his parents' funeral, her face streaked with tears as she gave him a hug so tight he couldn't breathe before leaning up and pressing a shy, tender kiss to his lips. He'd loved her then, he'd always known it, but until now he hadn't realized that he _still_ loved her.

He couldn't dwell on the past forever, though, and he was sure Rue was getting impatient out there. So, taking a deep breath, he reached one shaking hand down and lightly touched her cheek with his index finger, right where one of her freckles was, and then quickly withdrew it and backed away slightly. He saw and heard her take her first breath in a sharp, sudden gasp, saw her eyes fly open, and as she sat up Fakir stumbled backwards even further lest she reach out and touch him.

"I… I… wh-what…" Ahiru turned her head from side to side, looking around herself but not really seeing her surroundings. Then she spied Fakir, and her eyes focused and widened. "Who - who are you? Wh-what's going on?"

"It - it's me. It's me, Ahiru," Fakir managed, not quite sure how he'd found his voice. "It's Fakir… do you remember me?"

"F-Fakir?" Ahiru took a deep breath. Her heart was beating rapidly as she stared at him, and it felt so strange. But _why?_ Why should something so normal feel so strange all of a sudden? Her memory was so fuzzy and grey, a sharp contrast to how unnaturally bright the room seemed. "Of - of course I do, but… but what are you doing here? Where are we? What…" She trailed off as what she was sitting in finally registered, and she let out a sound of horror and surprise that sounded almost like a quack. "Oh… oh no! Noooooo… I, I - !" In a hasty, scrambling motion that happened too quickly even for her to remember afterwards, she flung herself over the side of the coffin and landed hard on the floor. "Owwwww…"

"Are you all right?" His first instinct had been to rush over and catch her as she fell, but he knew he couldn't, so he'd just barely held himself back.

"Y-yeah…" Ahiru winced and rubbed the spot on her backside where she'd landed. There was sure to be a bruise there later, she just knew it. "I think. But… but… I…" She looked up at the coffin, and her heart quailed in fright. "Did… did I really…"

"… Yeah." Fakir nodded. "Someone… someone did this… and…"

"I…" Ahiru stared down at her lap, at the fancy dress she didn't remember putting on. Now she knew why. "But… if I… then… then how am I…" She _felt_ alive - alive and acutely conscious suddenly of each heartbeat, every breath, the sensation of the dress against her skin and the carpet under her legs and the pain of that forming bruise - but if she'd died, how could that be? It made no sense.

"It's… something that I can do. I don't have time to explain." Fakir's breath hitched. "I… use it to solve murders, with a partner… and I'm trying to solve yours, so - so justice can be served…" As the words tumbled out, he realized that it was true. He didn't care about the hefty reward her Aunt Edel was offering, let Rue have all of it, it didn't matter. "Do you… do you remember what happened? Do you know who did this?"

"Kind of." Ahiru frowned. "I mean, I don't know who it was, but I remember it happening… I was out walking by the lake at night, and there was this creepy old man with really weird eyes, and… and he shoved me in the water, and…" She shuddered. "Th-that's really all I remember, sorry…"

"It's fine," Fakir said quietly. "Ahiru, I… I promise I'll find him and get him locked up. He won't get away with what he did to you."

"Good… that's good… I don't want him to hurt anyone else." She stood up, and studied him as if really seeing him for the first time since waking up. He looked a lot like she remembered from their childhood, just different, and he'd gotten so tall. And, she realized with a jolt, so handsome. It made her heart flutter a little as she looked at him. "I - I can't believe it, though… it's been so long since we've seen each other," she said shyly.

"Too long." His throat ached as he looked back at her. "I should've… I should've come back sooner, I'm sorry…" His voice shook. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay." Ahiru smiled, and he felt like _his_ heart would stop. She'd always been pretty when they were little, but now… now she was so beautiful. It almost hurt to look at her, knowing they had so little time. "You're here now. And I'm so happy to see you again."

"I… me too, but… I wish it were different, I wish it wasn't like this. I…" His voice was hoarse. "I never stopped thinking about you after I left… I wish I'd -"

He was cut off suddenly by a knock on the door, in a particular rhythm that meant it could only be Rue, and his heart sank. "What's that?" Ahiru asked, looking at the door.

"It's…" His throat closed, and he had to fight to get the next words out. "The time… it's almost up…"

"Time… you mean…" Ahiru's face fell. She looked at the coffin, and then back at Fakir. "You mean… you mean I have to…"

Fakir nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Oh… well… it's…" She stared down at the floor. She should've known it was too good to be true. How foolish to hope for more. "Then, um… b-before I… before I… go… I have to tell you something… something I always meant to but… um, anyway, back then I… I loved you." Ahiru's breath hitched and she felt a blush spread across her face. "S-sorry I never told you before…"

"It's…" He sounded pained. "I understand. I… loved you too, and I should've told you that well before now. I'm sorry too…"

"It's okay. She swallowed. "S-so, what, um… what happens, what do you have to do now?"

"One touch…" His voice was barely above a whisper, and when she looked up she could see tears in his eyes. "If I touch you one more time, you'll…"

"Oh… okay… w-well then, could you…" Her voice caught, and she realized that she was crying too. The tears were so hot, and her throat hurt as she thought about how this was the last time she'd feel that, the last time she'd feel anything. The last time she'd get to see Fakir's face and hear his voice. She wished she could hear him laugh and see him smile one more time too, the way he used to so often back then. She hated having to leave now that they'd finally found each other again. It just wasn't _fair_. "Could you… kiss me? O-one last time?"

"I… of course." Fakir swallowed. "Whatever you want."

They moved closer to each other, and Ahiru tilted her head up and closed her eyes, and stood on her toes. Fakir leaned down to meet her - and then froze. How could he do this? He knew the seconds were ticking by as he hesitated, knew the consequences of waiting too long, but for once, he didn't care. All he could think about was that it suddenly seemed like the worst thing in the world to use his power right now. How could he bring himself to do it? She was waiting for him, but he couldn't do it. There was no way. He couldn't give her the kind of kiss she deserved, the kind they both wanted from each other and now could never ever have. The instant his lips brushed hers, it would be the last thing she ever felt, and then she would fall to the floor, dead again and forever beyond the reach of his mysterious ability, and he'd have to put her back in the coffin and let her be buried. He'd never see her again, and she'd never get to do all the things she wanted to do.

No. He couldn't do this. He couldn't let her go.

"… I can't." Fakir took a step backwards, and then several more. "I can't do this…"

"What?" Ahiru opened her eyes. "You don't want to?"

"No." He shook his head. "I want… I want you to be alive… I…" He stopped, and strained his ears to listen, as if waiting for something. Ahiru gave him a confused frown, but he barely noticed. At last, after several seconds, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was over, the time was up now, and the consequences… well, they weren't as bad as they could've been, and so they didn't really matter. All that mattered was… "You want to live too… don't you?"

"Of… of course I do!" Wild hope reared up inside her, despite her attempts to force it down. "B-but can I really?"

"Yeah." He took another deep breath and let it out. "But… right now… right now you have to get back in there, and lie still and silent. Can you do that?"

"Of course!" Ahiru beamed at him, and then climbed back into the coffin.

Once she was back in, Fakir went to the door, and opened it. Rue was standing there, her arms folded and an impatient look on her face. "Well? Are you done now? Did she remember who killed her?"

"Yeah… it was… it was some old man she didn't know, who pushed her into the lake." Fakir paused, and wiped at his eyes. "Listen, I… I'm going to stay here, and attend the services. I feel like I… anyway, you can go ahead and go back, you don't have to stay too."

"Oh?" Fresh suspicion that he was trying to get all the reward for himself and cheat her out of the money flared up, but immediately dissipated as she saw how red and wet his eyes were. That was a slight surprise, as he was normally so closed-off and stoic, but then again he had a personal history with the dead girl, so it wasn't that shocking. It was understandable that he'd want to go to her funeral too. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow, then, I guess, and we can start hunting this old man down." If she left now, the bus should get her back in time to have dinner and stop by Fakir's pie shop for dessert and a chat with Mytho before heading home to her apartment. "Just don't try any funny business with the reward." She poked him in the chest. "Remember, I know where you live."

"I know." Fakir swallowed. "Thank you."

"Whatever." Rue shrugged and turned her back. "See you later."

Once he was sure she was gone, Fakir closed the door. For a moment he was possessed by the irrational fear that the people at the funeral home had come and taken Ahiru's coffin away while he wasn't looking, but it was still there when he turned back. He walked over and opened it up, and felt a powerful wave of nausea as he saw her lying there again, her eyes closed and her body so still… but then her chest rose ever so slightly, and he realized she was breathing. It made him feel like he could breathe again too. "Ahiru?"

She opened her eyes a little to look up at him. "Fakir? Is - is it safe now?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Good!" She brightened, and waited for him to move back so that she could climb back out again, more carefully this time. "Um, who was that you were talking to?"

"My, ah, partner." He crossed his arms, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "I - I told you I use my… ability to, to solve murders… I work with a private investigator. Right now we're… trying to solve yours, but I…" His voice hitched. "I don't care about the reward money. I just… want to see whoever hurt you behind bars."

"Oh, Fakir…" Fresh tears pricked at her eyes, and she cherished the feel of them. Her whole body was tingling, every nerve buzzing with sensation. She'd never felt so alive. "I… oh! Oh, but, um… how are we going to get out of here?"

"Just follow me." His hand twitched out of a yearning to take hers the way he always had when they'd gone exploring as children, but he resisted. "And be careful that you don't touch me," he added.

"Okay…" She followed him to the door, where he opened it just a crack and peered out.

Later, they would barely recall the details of their escape from the funeral home, but they would remember sneaking around corners, ducking into empty rooms, and giggling like two children pulling a prank. It was very much like the capers they had perpetrated when they were younger, only much more thrilling and risky. Somehow they managed to safely make it out without anyone seeing her - just in time to watch the hearse drive away with her empty coffin, bound for the cemetery - and back to the bus stop where Fakir and Rue had been let off what felt like hours earlier. He paid both their fares, and they were off.

Night fell as they rode back to the city, and they spent the entire time catching each other up on their lives since they'd last seen each other. Ahiru told him that she still danced and about the ducks she raised, and Fakir told her about the little pie restaurant he ran. They were both hungry by the time they got there, Ahiru especially, saying that it felt like ages since she'd last eaten; since Fakir wanted to stay away from his restaurant until after it was closed to make sure he'd avoid Mytho and Rue, he took her to a nearby diner. After they were done eating they headed to the Pie Hole, which by then was closed up and dark inside.

"Wow…" Ahiru marveled at what she could see of the interior as Fakir locked the door behind them. "It's so pretty…"

"Th-thanks… hey, do you want some pie?"

Ahiru's eyes lit up. "C-can I, really? Cause I'd love some, if that's okay!"

"Of course." Fakir smiled, and just barely resisted the urge to ruffle her hair. She still had the giant cowlick she'd always had as a little girl, and even the person who'd done her hair for her burial hadn't been able to tame it. There was something oddly reassuring about that. "What kind do you want? Oh wait… your favorite was always peach, wasn't it?"

"Yeah!" Ahiru nodded. "Do - do you have any?"

"I should. Let me check." He headed into the kitchen, and Ahiru clambered onto one of the stools at the counter to wait for him. As he searched, Fakir could hear a faint tapping, which must have been the sound of her shoes hitting against the counter as she swung her legs. He smiled to himself, and the smile broadened as he found a peach pie. "Ahiru? Do you want it warm with ice cream?"

"Oh! Yes! Yes, please!" She swung her legs a little faster, and thought she heard him laugh to himself about something. Two minutes and eleven seconds later, Fakir reemerged, and set the plate before her, along with a fork, a napkin, and a glass of milk. "Ooooh! Thank you so much, Fakir!"

She eagerly dug in, and Fakir watched her with a fond look on his face. Now that they were here, it was beginning to slowly sink in that this was real. Ahiru was alive again, and she was here to stay. She was in his restaurant, eating pie, and she was really real, really here. How he was going to explain things to Rue he wasn't sure, but he could worry about that tomorrow. Right now, he just wanted to immerse himself in the wonder and joy that was having Ahiru here, and forget about the outside world. "H-how is it?" he asked shyly as she paused to take a drink of her milk.

"It's delicious!" Ahiru beamed at him. "I - I think it's the best pie I've ever had!"

Fakir blushed. "That's because - I think - it probably tastes better to you than it normally would because of…"

"Maybe." Ahiru thought about it, then shook her head. "No. I think it would taste just as good any time. You're really good at baking, Fakir!"

He ducked his head a little, feeling his ears go red. "Th-thanks…"

"You're welcome!" Ahiru returned to eating her pie, and when she'd finished she looked up at him with curiosity in her eyes. "Um, so… t-tell me about your power… you said if you touch me again, I'll… but then, wouldn't I come back if you touched me after that?"

"No." Fakir shook his head. "The way it works is… when I touch someone, they come back to life, and when I touch them a second time, that's it… they're… a third touch wouldn't do anything. So… we can never touch again."

"N-never?" Ahiru's face fell. "Y-you mean… I can't even give you a hug?"

"I…" A lump rose in his throat as he gazed at her, at the forlorn expression on her sweet face. He wanted to hold her so badly it was like an ache in his chest, and she was so tiny, and he was so much taller, so surely there must be a way to embrace her without killing her… but no. He wasn't willing to take that chance. "I'm sorry, but… no. You can't. Not… not unless we're careful, and we wrap ourselves up somehow to make sure we don't come into contact with each other's skin."

"Oh." Ahiru stared down at her empty plate. "I - I guess we could try that sometime, then… if - if you want to, that is."

"Of course I do." She looked back up to see him gazing at her with an emotion in his eyes that made her heart ache. "I…"

"You what?" She wanted to reach out and touch his face, but held herself back. "What is it, Fakir?"

"… I still love you." His voice had dropped to a whisper again. "I know that must sound foolish and ridiculous, but… I do. And if it wouldn't kill you, I'd hug you and hold your hand and do anything you asked me to."

Holding hands. Ahiru remembered suddenly that when they'd stayed over at each other's houses as children, they'd always put their sleeping bags right next to each other's under their blanket fort, and fallen asleep holding hands. The memory made a lump form in her throat. "No… no, that doesn't sound foolish or anything, not at all." She blinked back tears. "I… I love you too, and I… I want to do that stuff with you too… do you think we can find a way?

"Yes." His voice sounded a little stronger now. "We'll have to." Fakir's gaze strayed to the dishes in front of her. "Are you done with those?"

"What? Oh… yes…" Ahiru nodded, and leaned back so that Fakir could collect them and take them back into the kitchen. She watched and listened as he washed them and set them to dry, and then followed him without a word as he led her up to his apartment. On the way, she thought about the fact that she had no idea what she was going to do tomorrow. Oh well - she could figure it out then. She now had plenty of time, after all.

"Wait here," Fakir told her once he'd locked the door and shown her into his small living room. Ahiru nodded and sat down on the couch while he headed down the hall, presumably into his bedroom.

It was tempting to wander around and look at everything, but she was finally getting tired. Dying and coming back to life apparently took a lot out of you. So she simply sat and waited, until Fakir came back out and set something on the coffee table. "What's this?"

"A shirt." His face reddened again. "One of mine. I… don't have anything else for you to wear when you go to sleep, but this should be big enough… sorry…"

"It's okay." Ahiru picked it up. "Um, where am I going to sleep?"

"In my bed. I'll take the couch. No, it's fine, really," he interrupted as she opened her mouth to protest. "I'll buy you your own bed tomorrow, but until then I'm fine sleeping out here. Don't worry about me."

"O-okay… though I still feel kinda bad…" Ahiru stood up. "Um, do you mind if I go change and then come back and say goodnight? I'm really tired, sorry…"

He shook his head. "Of course I don't mind. Go ahead. And there's no need to feel bad about being tired, it's… been a rough day for you."

"Y-yeah, I - I guess you could say that… though it's also been really good, too." She smiled shyly and blushed. "Okay, be right back, then!" She darted down the hallway to where his room was and closed the door. The bed looked so welcoming that she almost wanted to just lie right down and go to sleep then and there, but she didn't want to go to sleep without saying goodnight to Fakir. So she changed into Fakir's shirt, leaving her own clothes on a chair. It was indeed long enough, reaching down nearly to her knees, and it smelled good. She took a moment to just sniff the sleeves and hug herself and pretend he was hugging her before heading back out.

Fakir turned to see her as he heard her little footsteps on the floor, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw her in his shirt. It dwarfed her little body, and thus was completely adorable on her. "You're ready now?"

"Yeah, I…" She trailed off as she caught sight of his hands - he'd put on gloves, and had pulled them on over his shirt sleeves. "Um… what are you wearing those for?"

"Well… I found these and I thought…" Fakir swallowed. "I thought maybe… we could hold hands a little… before going to bed. If - if you want, that is."

"Oh! Oh, of course I do!" Ahiru brightened. "That sounds wonderful!"

Fakir smiled. "All right."

He sat down on the couch then, and she carefully sat down too at a safe distance. He laid his hand down on the cushion between them, and she put her hand in his. His hands were big, and hers so small, and they fit perfectly in each other's grasp as he closed his hand around hers. They smiled at one another, and sat for a while in happy silence, just holding hands, until they could no longer stay awake and parted for sleep.

They knew it wouldn't be easy for them. But that didn't mean they weren't going to try.


	2. Chapter 2: Fear (Fantasy AU)

One by one fireflies glimmered to life and took to the air in a symphony of light as the gibbous moon rose in the dark night sky. They flitted merrily about, fascinating the lone human sitting beside a dying fire. In a small glade a safe distance away from the makeshift campsite, she could see the forest mushrooms beginning to softly glow as well from the undersides of their speckled caps. Her eyes lit up as she spotted them, and she turned to her companion. "Oooh, I've always wanted to see those! Do you think it's true that there's little fairies living inside and they glow cause they're turning on their lights to see at night?"

He moved his head in the manner that she had come to learn over the past year or so was his approximation of a shrug. It was true that he could do a _real_ shrug if he wanted to, but all things considered it wasn't entirely advisable for a dragon to shrug, not if he didn't want to cause a small earthquake. "I don't know. I never studied that sort of thing."

"Awwww." Ahiru made a little sad face, and then curled up against Fakir. The nights out here were a little chilly, but it wasn't so bad when she had someone so big and warm to snuggle up with, which she knew he didn't mind. They might've looked like something out of the illustrated storybooks she'd had read to her as a child if it weren't for how contented she obviously was to be by his side. "I kinda want to check, but I'd probably scare them away."

The ground beneath them rumbled slightly as Fakir laughed. "Only if they saw me with you. You can always abandon me, you know, if you want to chase fairies."

"Never!" Ahiru proclaimed, tilting her small body more firmly into his as if for emphasis. "I said I'd stick with you and I meant it!"

"… I know you did. I was only joking."

They fell silent then, just enjoying the sights and sounds of the evening and each other's company. No clouds blocked their view of the moon or the myriad stars that twinkled away in various patterns and constellations. Ahiru recognized some from the star charts she'd studied under Fakir's tutelage this past year, and traced lines between them with her finger. While she did that a firefly chanced to land on the tip of her freckled little nose, making her giggle; an expression appeared on Fakir's face that to an onlooker surely would've been terrifying but in reality was nothing more than a fond smile at how cute she was.

After a few more minutes, Ahiru spoke up again. "So, um… it's happening tomorrow."

"It might," Fakir corrected her. "We've had leads come to nothing before, I don't want to get our hopes up."

"Oh, I know, but… but I really think this is the one!" Ahiru's eyes lit up and her hands became little fists that she clasped under her chin. "I just have a really really good feeling about it! But, um, anyway… if it does, or when it does… what are you going to do after that? I don't think we've really talked about it before…"

"I'll go home, first of all." Fakir shifted slightly, and a rock fell off a nearby tree stump. "I have to let my family and everyone else know I'm all right. After that… I suppose I'll resume working again somewhere." He glanced at her. "… What about you? What are you going to do?"

"I…" Ahiru paused. "Um, I - I don't know." Her gaze dropped. "I - I haven't really thought about it, I've just been focusing on helping you and learning and looking for stuff and I haven't had time to really think about afterwards beyond 'yay, he'll be human again and we'll break the spell'." It was half true; for a long time she really hadn't thought about it. But each and every time they'd drawn near to another possible solution to his problem, fear of what would come next reared up in her.

She wanted him to regain his humanity and be able to resume his life, she really did. She'd be happy for him when it happened. But a small, selfish, _shameful_ part of her was scared for herself, of what that day would mean for _her_. She berated herself for it whenever it rose to her mind, but it didn't make her any less worried. Would she have to leave him? Would she be on her own again? She'd been alone and friendless for so many years now; the thought of going back to that now that she'd found someone so dear to her made her so afraid that she felt sick to her stomach.

"You're welcome to stay with me. If - if you want." He made a strange noise that might have been him clearing his throat. "I know you haven't got anywhere to go back to because of your uncle, and I don't want you to be all on your own if you don't want to be."

"R-really?" Ahiru lifted her gaze and peered at him. The dim light made it hard to read whatever emotion, if any, was showing in those huge eyes of his. "I - I'd really like that, thank you so much…! But - but are you sure? I - I mean… wouldn't I be a burden to you?"

"Not at all." Fakir moved his head slightly. "If anything, I'll owe you for all that you've done for me. It's the least I could do."

Ahiru blushed. "Oh, n-no, it's really nothing, I haven't done that much… b-but anyway, I… I'm glad you don't want me to go away," she added, her voice becoming softer on the last few words.

Fakir was quiet for a few minutes, and she thought he'd fallen asleep until he spoke up again. "… No. I don't want you to go away."

Ahiru couldn't find the words to say to that, and Fakir fell asleep soon after anyway. She laid awake for a while as he slept, listening to his even breathing and watching the pale light of the moon and stars shine on his scales. Brown and green and black alternated themselves all over his body without any real pattern, a slightly unusual color scheme but one she rather liked. Gazing at his sleeping face, she couldn't help but remember the day they'd met.

It had been about a year ago, and she'd just escaped from the palace where she lived with her wicked uncle. He'd taken over as regent as well as her guardian after her parents died, such a short period of time after her birth that she lacked any real memories of them save for faded wisps and tatters of the scant few years she'd had with her mother. He'd never been kind to her, but when it became obvious that he wasn't planning to let her take the throne when she came of age or even to let her live long enough to come of age, she knew she had to escape. So she'd packed what she could in a small bag and fled in the middle of the night, and somehow her directionless - for she had never really been outside the castle and hadn't had a specific destination in mind - wanderings had led to her stumbling into a dragon's cave.

She'd never be one hundred percent certain how that had happened, so exhausted had she been by that point, but she knew that in some bizarre way it did make sense, did seem like something she'd do. But that was in hindsight: at the exact moment of her seeing him and realizing where she was, she'd quailed in terror and nearly fainted, her mouth opening in a silent scream. The fear had lasted only for a brief moment, however, before he rolled his eyes -something she never knew before that point that dragons did - and spoke in a voice that sounded positively _annoyed_.

"Calm down, idiot. I'm not going to eat you."

She'd been so taken aback that it had actually removed some of her fear, enough that she could answer his questions and ask some of her own. By the time he'd agreed to let her stay there and even promised to protect her if her uncle or any of his men ever showed up - he would roast them, but not eat them either, for reasons she would figure out about a week later - she was fully relaxed and no longer afraid of him. They'd introduced themselves, properly this time, and begun to work out the details of their new life together and settle into it.

A few days after her arrival Fakir had asked her, hesitantly, if she would be willing to help him with something. Not as payment for letting her stay with him, but simply as a favor. Feeling like she did owe him for his hospitality and wanting to return his kindness, she'd readily agreed, and thus the magic lessons had begun. A few days after _that, _she worked up the courage to ask him why this favor involved teaching _her_ something. He'd explained that he wasn't really a dragon, or rather that he hadn't always been one. He'd originally been a human magician, and some kind of magical accident had transformed him into this. He'd fled human society and hid himself away to try and restore his humanity. He'd been at it for several months without any success - his efforts hampered by the limitations of his form - when Ahiru showed up, and he was hoping that while she was there she might be able to lend him her assistance. Ahiru was more than happy to help, and chirpily agreed before trailing off, her eyes widening, and she burst out with what she'd just realized: that he didn't want to eat humans because he really was one, and that would be like cannibalism to him. This revelation had resulted in her hearing him laugh for the first time before he confirmed it.

So he'd taught her magic and she helped him research, and after a while they left the safety of his cave to travel in search of a cure, following various leads. It had been both fun and difficult - Ahiru knew little about the world still, and enjoyed seeing more of it, but learned quickly that all journeys are fraught with complications and hardships. Among the worst was when they attracted the attention of knights and princes who had read too many storybooks and felt they must slay the dragon and "save" the girl they thought he was holding captive. Ahiru had been terrified for Fakir's safety every time, and thus hadn't hesitated to throw herself between him and his attackers in an effort to protect him, losing her temper and yelling at her would-be rescuers to go away and leave them alone, she didn't need saving because this was her friend and they weren't allowed to hurt him. Sometimes there were onlookers who found the sight of her trying to shield a massive dragon with her tiny little body to be an amusing one, but it was always deadly serious to her, and she never stopped trembling until at least an hour after she'd run off the latest knight or prince. Fakir always chided her for putting herself in danger for his sake, but she'd insist, while hugging him as best she could, that she couldn't stand by and let them try to harm him, and he eventually gave up trying to argue with her.

And it was true. He was too important to her to lose. Until Fakir, the only friend she'd ever had was her nanny Miss Edel. Miss Edel… even now thinking about her made her blink back tears. Miss Edel had been a little strange at times, but so kind and loving. She'd tried to make her life at the palace happy, and had succeeded for a while… but then one day there had been another nanny there, one less kind and more austere, who had no interest in reading storybooks to her or taking her on excursions into the castle gardens or playing games with her. Her uncle had told her that Miss Edel had gotten another job and had run off without notice, but Ahiru had never believed him, had always suspected that something terrible had happened to her beloved nanny. Years later, thinking back on old bad memories and recalling that the new nanny had burnt some of her storybooks for being "unsuitable", she wondered if Miss Edel's fate had come about because her uncle believed her to be filling his niece's head with ideas he found dangerous to him and his plans for her. And indeed, it was some of those very stories that had inspired her to try and escape with her life when she discovered his plots against her, and to take the steps that had led to that discovery in the first place, so there may have been something to that. She didn't know if Miss Edel had been doing it on purpose or not, but clearly her uncle had believed it of her, and so she'd had to go. Either way she felt she owed Miss Edel her life, and had sworn never to forget about her. She'd hoped in their travels to hear something about her and had asked about her in every town they passed through, but had received no news. It seemed to confirm her worst suspicions.

Still, those difficulties aside, it had been a happy year overall for her. She'd been more free than she'd ever been, and though she worried over Fakir's safety when they ran into misguided do-gooders, she had never felt so safe and assured of her own safety in his company. It was hard to be afraid of pursuit from your uncle's forces when you had a rather large dragon on your side, after all. Even more than that, though, she'd come to cherish his company dearly, and deeply feared losing it. She didn't want to leave him, she wanted to keep on staying by his side even after he became a human again. How could she bear to return to being alone and lonely after having experienced a year of wonderful companionship? It didn't matter that it was unusual companionship, it was a meaningful and important relationship to her that she dreaded losing.

She felt strongly for him. She knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Lately she'd even started to suspect that she loved him, a conviction that was growing in certainty by the day. Maybe some people would think that loving someone who wasn't even human right now, especially when you didn't even know what they looked like (and she hadn't asked, feeling that rude, and only knew his age because he'd volunteered it after she told him hers in the process of blurting out a truncated version of her life story - it turned out that he was only three years older than she was) was weird, but she didn't. Love was about insides, not outsides, about the connection you found with another person. That was something else she'd learned from the stories Miss Edel had read her. And that wasn't fair, anyway, to all the blind people who found love and spent their whole lives never knowing what their beloved looked like. Not knowing that didn't make their feelings any less real or valid, so the same held true for hers.

No, what was really silly was falling for him at all, when their time together was bound to end, when he wouldn't need her after he turned back into a human and got his life back. Or maybe _that_ was the silliest thought of all: that he would be that kind of person, the sort who'd abandon a trusted friend he'd been through so much with, who'd helped him so much without expecting anything in return. He'd given her no indication of being such a person… quite the opposite, in fact, and it was part of why she felt she loved him. He really was a kind person beneath the prickly surface, and she'd discovered more of that inner kindness bit by bit as they got to know each other, sort of like peeling his scales off one by one to reveal softer skin beneath (though she'd never ever do that to him). Rationally, she shouldn't feel these fears, but she couldn't help it; too many years of being unloved and treated unkindly by so many people, not just her uncle, had taken their toll and it was hard for her to believe in her own self-worth, even now after having learned magic and accomplished things on their journey. She felt bad for having such thoughts, as if they were reflections on his character, when she actually thought very highly of him, but it was so hard for her to believe that _anyone_ would want her to stick around for very long. Not because of any flaw in their personality, but because of something wrong with _her_. She tried her best not to let those feelings get the better of her, but it was hard.

That said, they weren't the kind of thoughts she should be letting in her head now, the night before they investigated another lead on a cure for him. Ahiru sighed and shifted slightly. If she wanted to be well-rested for their search, she needed to get some sleep. So she watched the fireflies flit around for a while longer until her eyes began to fall and the yawns were closer together, and then finally drifted off to sleep, still nestled against Fakir.

In the morning, as the last dregs of night faded from the sky, Fakir made another small fire for Ahiru to cook her small breakfast with. Once she was done eating and had extinguished the flames, they set out for what they hoped would be the final leg of their trip, at least with him in this form. True to the information they'd acquired, the entrance to the cave they sought wasn't far from where they'd camped the previous night, and was large enough for them to comfortably enter together. The ruins they came to after a while - which were supposed to be there according to their information, a promising sign - were also mostly easy for him to pass through, aside from a couple places where he needed to knock down part of a crumbling wall while Ahiru stood a safe distance away.

At last, after a long and tiresome journey in near darkness lit only by the ball of light Ahiru summoned up and the occasional soft glow of a stalactite they made it to their destination. The legend had stated that a spring of magical water able to heal any illness or break any curse still flowed there; but the legend was a bit out of date, and the spring had nearly run dry by this point in time. There was enough water left for him to drink, however, and Ahiru pulled out the specially anointed goblet they'd acquired and prepared. Once it was filled, she carried it carefully over to Fakir, and spoke the necessary words in the arcane language, just as he'd instructed her, before pouring the precious liquid into his open mouth.

She backed away several paces as his huge body began to shudder and convulse, hoping it wouldn't cause a cave-in, and hid her eyes just in time as he started glowing with a blinding light. She could hear strange sounds that she took for the magic working, and then her heart dropped when she heard him scream. It was agony waiting for the bright lights to fade away so she could rush over to him, but she somehow managed it, and also managed somehow not to trip and fall on her face as she stumbled over herself in her haste to reach his side.

He was lying on the cave floor with his eyes closed, human but so still that she feared he was dead. Tears blurring her vision, she ran and knelt beside him to check for signs of life. To her staggering relief, she could feel his heart beating when she placed her hand on his chest, and he was breathing as well. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked at her almost sleepily once they'd focused. "Ahiru?" he said hoarsely. He sat up slowly, and Ahiru moved back a little to sit beside him. He saw her tears and frowned. "Are you all right?"

"I - I - oh, Fakir!" Her lower lip quivering and fresh tears filling her eyes, Ahiru flung herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder as she cried. "I - I was so afraid you were… I heard you, and then, and then I saw you just lying there…"

"I…" Fakir looked down at her, and then gingerly wrapped his arms around her. He was still afraid of his own body, afraid that he would cause her irreparable harm by touching her, but he reminded himself that he was human now, the way he was supposed to be. He didn't have claws or fangs or fiery breath, he could be gentle with her and not worry about hurting her with the slightest bit of physical contact. He lifted one of his hands - human hands, how strange they looked still, and how strange that it would be that way - and started to stroke her hair, his movements becoming more comfortable and natural after the first few. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you… the first transformation was much the same, and I probably should've warned you, but I had no way of knowing how it would actually go." It was good to be able to comfort her like this. She'd gotten upset more than once over the past year and he'd wanted to be able to do something like this for her, but had been unable to, something which seemed even more unfair because she'd done it for him when he got upset over something, hugging him and petting his head. He was glad to be able to return the favor, because she deserved it.

"It - it's okay." Ahiru sniffled. No one had held her like this in years, and it felt so warm and wonderful to have Fakir do it. "It's not your f-fault, and I'm just glad you're okay."

"Yeah… I'm fine…" He closed his eyes again for a moment. "Don't worry."

She let him hold her for a few more minutes, and then pulled back so she could wipe her eyes and see him, _really_ see him, without tears blurring her eyes. In her initial panic over whether or not he was alive she hadn't taken more than a cursory look at his actual appearance, and now that she was calmed down she wanted to get a better glimpse of his human form. He looked to be the age he'd said, and had light brown skin and thick black hair tied back in a messy ponytail. His eyes were a deep green, the right one partially hidden by some of the hair that hung loose over that side of his face, and though they were only a very small fraction of the size they'd been in his dragon form, she would've known them in an instant by the guarded look in them that just barely concealed the emotions he was feeling. He was strikingly handsome, actually, a fact that made her blush slightly and turn her attention to the clothes he wore. He had on magician's robes of the same general sort as those she'd seen on the palace wizards back home, only his weren't anywhere near as fine as theirs were. His were really rather shabby, actually, faded and frayed round the edges, with a small rip in one of the sleeves, and she could see where a button had been sewn back on just off the correct place. That spoke, she felt, to a personality difference she found favorable. Fakir was serious and dedicated and valued substance in spells most of all, while the royal sorcerers had all been overly concerned with flash and opulence and style and had been annoyingly pompous and vain to boot, two things he decidedly was not. It was no contest which she preferred.

"Um… don't take this the wrong way, but… your voice sounds kinda… well, not weird, but really different now," Ahiru said once she was done studying him. "I guess cause you're not in a big dragon body anymore…"

To her surprise, Fakir laughed. "Yes… I know… it all feels strange, after so much time spent in that body… it's been so long since I've spoken in this voice, or been able to look at the world from smaller eyes… I suppose I'll have to readjust to everything." They were both silent for a few minutes, and then he spoke up again, sounding shy despite his efforts to come off as casual. "So… you're… will you really stay with me for a while? Not - not because I need the help adjusting, just… I… I do like… having you around." His face went red as he admitted it, and he didn't meet her eyes.

"Of course I will!" Ahiru nodded. "I - I'll stay as long as you like! Forever, even! I…" She broke off as she realized what she'd just said, and her gaze fell to the ground, her face hot.

It took Fakir a long moment to find his voice again, and when he did it sounded hoarser than before. "Do you… did you really mean that?"

Ahiru twisted her skirt in her hands for half a minute before giving a slow nod. "… Y-yeah. I did."

"… I'd like that." Fakir hesitated, and then reached forward and took her hands, which made her finally look up at him with wide eyes. Her hands were soft, and half the size of his; an ache he'd been carrying in his heart for several months now eased as he held them at long last. "I… you might think this is silly, or… I don't know… but… during all this time we've had together, I've…" He swallowed. "I love you."

"I…" Ahiru drew her breath in shakily, both at his words and at the way his eyes looked now: they'd softened, and were so full of warmth and nervousness that between it and his confession she could feel a new wave of tears building, though they were happy ones this time. "I love you too… I… oh, Fakir…"

She flung herself at him again, and this time he didn't hesitate to embrace her in kind. When she pulled back, giggling through her tears, she found that he was smiling too, and it took her breath away all over again. She shyly touched his face, and the way he trembled at the contact reminded her how newly unused he must be to having human skin and how startled he'd always been as a dragon whenever she touched him. He must, she realized, have felt so horrible and hideous and unlovable all that time, given that he'd isolated himself from humanity until she stumbled into his cave. She'd have to make sure he knew he wasn't a monster and at heart never had been.

They walked out of the cave hand in hand, into the sunlight and the beginning of a happy new life together.


	3. Chapter 3: Longing (Mermaid AU)

Glistening golden sunlight played on the surface of the water as Ahiru skidded across the sand; to better see her way she paused and raised a hand to shade her eyes with the aid of the sketchbook held tightly in her fingers. Her heart sank when she saw that the sea before her was empty, but she nevertheless kept on going until she reached the water's edge. She hadn't brought a blanket to sit on, but she didn't care. She set her small bag down beside her and kicked her sandals off so that she could wiggle her toes in the sand and feel the lapping of the tides on her feet as she sat down.

A crisp breeze ruffled the shorter bits of her long red hair that she hadn't been able to put into her braided bun, and she shivered. Autumn was almost upon them, and in fact it seemed to be starting early this year. Most years she wouldn't have minded - she loved the cooler weather and the bright foliage that accompanied the change of seasons - but today especially it left her heart heavy with sadness and, right now, growing fear. Had she missed him? Was she too late? Had he already left for wherever it was he and the others spent autumn and winter, without giving her a chance to say her goodbyes? No, that would be too cruel… wouldn't it? Oh, how she wished she hadn't gone to the fair on her day off yesterday, squandering what was probably her last day with him for months and months, what a terrible thing to do.

_He'll be back in the spring,_ Ahiru reminded herself as she stared forlornly out at the empty rock with its lonely patch of seaweed swaying in the wind. _And until then you have the sketches of him to keep you company. Until then…_

Yet she knew deep down that it wasn't the same. A sigh slipped out as she opened her sketchbook and studied that seaweed, began to listlessly draw it. The months until his return seemed so long. And all the while during them her heart would ache with longing for him, to hear his voice and see his face, to listen to his stories of the world beneath the waves and swim beside him in the water. Every day she would yearn for his presence, his company, and there were so many days between now and then that it seemed unbearable. She would get through it somehow, she knew that, but it would be so painful and difficult. _Oh_, how she missed him already! _Oh_, how she wished he would -

"Ahiru?"

Her heart seemed nearly to stop at the sound of her name, and then began to pound with almost dizzying speed. "F-Fakir?" She lifted her gaze from her sketch to see him beside the rock where she'd first spotted him months ago, and her eyes lit up with a joy more blindingly bright than the afternoon sun. "Fakir! You're here!"

"Of course. I…" He trailed off, blushing, and averted his eyes as he saw that her first action after stuffing her sketchbook into her bag was to scramble to her feet and remove her clothing. There was a swimsuit underneath, of course, but it still seemed more respectful not to watch. Splashes in the water let him know it was okay to look at her, and as he did he saw her stumble a little but then right herself, just before the water deepened, and swam out to meet him. "You should be more careful," he gently chided her as she reached him. "You can't breathe underwater."

"N-no, I know I can't, b-but I'm a good swimmer!" Ahiru protested. "I - I mean, I'm not as good as you are, but - but for a human I'm pretty good! I've spent my whole life by the sea and swimming in it, remember?"

"I remember. I only -" Fakir was abruptly cut off as Ahiru moved closer and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I - ! Wh-what's this for?"

"S-sorry if it's not okay, just…" Ahiru sniffled. "I - I'm so glad you're here, I was really worried when I got here and you weren't around, I thought maybe… I thought you'd already left and I'd missed you and that I was stupid and selfish to go to the fair yesterday on my day off instead of coming here and spending it with you, and I was scared…"

"… Never," Fakir said quietly, after a moment of silence. "That wouldn't happen. I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to you first."

"Really?" Ahiru pulled back to look at him. "But - but what if everyone else left without you? I don't want you to get left behind just because of _me_…"

He shook his head. "It wouldn't be too much trouble to catch up. Don't worry about it - we have abilities you humans don't, remember?"

"Oh. Oh yeah." She blushed and giggled nervously. "That's true…" She pulled back from him then, and moved to sit atop the rock. It was nice to feel the sun on her skin, as the water was already chilly, and as a bonus it offered her a good view of Fakir from above. She surreptitiously studied him out of the corner of her eye: his dark hair and handsome face with those green, green eyes, the firm, lean muscles of his upper body, the old scar on his chest from a tangle with fishermen, and lastly where the smooth brown skin of his stomach disappeared into a tail covered with shimmering scales that reminded her of rare and beautiful black opals.

She still remembered the day she'd first seen him, sitting on this very rock. He'd had his back to her, his face tilted up towards the bright spring sun, and he'd combed his fingers through his wet hair before turning and seeing her and… well, to say her life had never been the same since was maybe a _bit_ dramatic, but that didn't make it any less true. For one thing it had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that merfolk were real, which was a life-changing revelation in itself before even speaking of the bond that had formed between them after that first startling glimpse, with the two of them only able to stare silently at each other for a few minutes. The stories she'd read and reread since childhood seemed to be true… yet also fell short of reality. Many a tale existed in the human world about men falling in love with mermaids, or mermaids falling in love with human men… but that couldn't be all. Where were the other stories? Where, for example, were the stories of girls like her, girls who fell in love with mermen? Surely she couldn't be the first to ever do so.

"Tell me about the fair you went to." Fakir's voice interrupted her dreamy thoughts about him; she half-jumped, and blushed. "What sorts of things did you see?"

"Oh, lots!" Ahiru's eyes sparkled as she gazed at him, and for a multitude of reasons would never have guessed that she had the same effect on him that he did on her, wouldn't have thought that he was studying her lovely face, with those big blue eyes and sweet smile and splash of freckles, with the same wistful longing she felt when she looked at him. "There were lots of animals, and so many people, and I went on rides and had lots of yummy food, a-and I played some games, but I wasn't really any good so I didn't win anything, but it was still fun! And I went to a little concert too, and had my fortune read by a real fortune-teller!"

"Really?" He leaned on the rock to better look up at her. "What did they say?"

"She said… she said… um…" Ahiru's cheeks turned red as she recalled the exact words. "Um, I… it - it was silly, it was so silly, and embarrassing, I don't want to… I can't… s-sorry…" She looked away from him, feigning a sudden interest in the seaweed on the rock as she wrung her hands in her lap.

"It's all right." He wanted to reach out and take one of her small hands, but he didn't know if she would welcome such a thing, so he didn't. "We all have things we don't want to talk about."

"Y-yeah… I guess that's true." She looked back at him. "Th-thank you for understanding…"

"Of course." Fakir paused for a second. "Tell me, though… were you alone at the fair? Or did you have some fun with your friends?"

"N-no… I mean, no, I was… I was alone." Ahiru's gaze fell to the surface of the rock. "Pike and Lilie were supposed to meet me there, but they ditched me… I guess stuff came up, I don't know, they didn't leave me any messages but I know they're okay cause I saw them pass by on my way to the teahouse this morning but I guess they didn't see me cause they didn't say hi…"

"… I'm sorry." Fakir frowned. From what she'd said about these "friends" of hers he didn't like them, because it didn't seem like they treated her very well, and someone as wonderful as Ahiru deserved better.

Ahiru shook her head. "It's okay… I know I should try to make new friends so I don't have to always hang around them, but it's hard… and anyway I still had a good time by myself, so don't worry about me!" She smiled at him as a way to mask how sad and lonely she really felt. If it were earlier in the year she might've confided in him, but she felt like it wasn't right to burden him with such things, not now when he was about to migrate to warmer waters for months and months with the rest of the merkingdom he lived in, leaving her completely alone. She didn't want him to feel guilty about doing what was only natural for him to do and she couldn't ask him to stay behind just for her, that wouldn't be fair to him or to any of his friends and family either.

"Mmmm." Despite Ahiru's best efforts, Fakir wasn't convinced; one of the things he'd come to know about her over the past several months was that she was a terrible liar. "I think that, if you could meet her, you would like our princess… she's around your age, and I think you two would get along."

"Y-yeah, you told me about her!" Ahiru brightened a little. "She sounds really nice, I wish I could meet her and be friends with her!" Her shoulders slumped slightly and she sighed. "I wish I could see _all_ of the world under there… everything you've told me about sounds so wonderful… I've always longed to explore the ocean like that…"

"… You could," Fakir said after a long moment of hesitation. "There is… one way… but…" He trailed off.

"Oooh?" Ahiru perked up. "But what? What? Tell me!" Heart racing with excitement, she leaned closer to him, unaware that _his_ heart was fluttering from her increased nearness. "Please?"

"Well… I…" Fakir took a deep breath and tried to find coherent speech even though her face was so close to his. "I could… there's magic to… to make you a mermaid, but… but the transformation would be permanent, you could never…" He swallowed. "You would have to leave the human world behind, forever. I couldn't change you back."

He expected her to droop with disappointment and say something along the lines of 'oh… thanks anyway…' but instead her eyes widened and she dropped back into the water beside him. "R-really? I could… I could really… oh, please do it! Please! I'd -" She paused. "Oh, but… but what would I wear?" She glanced down at them both and blushed. She'd never seen Fakir wearing any kind of shirt, and while she didn't mind that because of the great view (though admittedly it was hard not to stare sometimes and give away her feelings for him), it _did_ bring up the question of general merfolk attire. _Was _there any when it came to mermaids? She'd never asked him. Would she have to go without shirts or anything too? Lilie often teased her about how, well, _small_ she was, but no matter how little she had - and really, she was just _fine_ with her body until her friends brought it up and made her feel self-conscious - the thought of just exposing it all was mortifying.

"You would… well…" If Ahiru had been able to look Fakir in the face at that moment, she would have seen that his face had gone the same color as her hair, and also that he was trying very hard not to look at the part of her body she was currently contemplating. "The transformation, it wouldn't… it wouldn't take away…" He hesitantly touched the strap of her swimsuit top, and then quickly withdrew his hand. "And then once you… we… got down there you - you could choose… what to wear o-or not w-wear…" He silently cursed himself for being so painfully awkward. Of all the things she could've asked about, it _would_ be this; such was his luck.

"Oh, oh, okay!" Ahiru let out a little sigh of relief. "Th-that's good! I mean, I've seen stuff in movies and art and stuff where mermaids wear shells but I'm sure that's probably not accurate, but maybe it is, and even if it is I have no idea how that works or what else there could be, but I guess I can figure it out later… um, a-anyway, l-let's do this!"

Fakir gazed down at her eager little face. "Are you sure? As I told you, the change is permanent… I can't turn you back, you'd never be able to go back to being a human…"

"Yes! I'm absolutely one hundred percent sure!" Ahiru nodded emphatically. "I've always wanted this, it's a dream come true for me, ever since I was little I've dreamed about being a mermaid and going under the ocean and seeing what it's like down there!"

"I see… still, though… do you know you won't regret it?" Fakir hesitated, and then touched her cheek with his fingertips, mistaking the tremble that went through her at his touch for a shiver at the cold of the water. "If it's what you know you truly want, I'll gladly grant your wish, but I know that even dreams can sour, and I… I don't want you to be unhappy."

"I won't be. I know I want this," Ahiru said earnestly. "I just know I'll be much happier under there, I've always felt like the sea is calling me, all my life, and this is my chance!" And what, after all, did the human world have to offer her? Friends who were unkind to her and increasingly cold and distant as their lives went in separate directions and drifted apart? A job in a teahouse that wasn't _terrible_ but also wasn't what she wanted? Her parents were long gone too, and the uncle who'd raised her after their deaths was even colder and less kind than her friends at their worst. Under the sea, she could fulfill her dreams of exploring that part of the world, she could make new friends who cared about her, and see Fakir every day. It seemed perfect.

Fakir stared quietly at her for a minute, and then pulled her into his arms. "All right." His voice was a soft whisper in her ear, no louder than the faint breeze that caressed their hair. "Since you're sure, then…"

Ahiru nodded, and opened her mouth to say something, but her voice died as she heard him murmur things in a language she didn't understand, and felt warm tendrils of energy work their way from his fingers and into her skin, slipping beneath its surface and deep into her body. She clung to him as it started working on her, as her legs began to join together and sprout scales, and the warmth wriggled through her innards and wrought changes she wasn't sure she could name but knew were taking place. The gills came next, forming on her throat, and it _hurt_ - it felt like her skin was being cut open, like a thousand paper cuts but worse, and the first splash of the water against them stung as if someone had tossed lemon juice onto it. She whimpered in pain, burying her face in his chest to try and muffle it; his skin smelled like sunlight and salt water, and she tried to focus on that to distract herself. He must have heard her or felt her tears on him or both, for he stroked her hair and her back and whispered comforting things into her ear that she barely heard, but just the sound of his voice calmed her a little.

When it was all over he pulled away so he could look at her face, and she wiped at her damp eyes. "Ahiru? Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah." Ahiru finished getting the tears off her face and smiled up at him. "I - I'm fine, I just… I didn't know getting the gills would hurt like that." Her eyes strayed to his, half-hidden under his long hair. "But it's okay now, it doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good." He paused, and then touched her throat, close to where her new gills were. "I'm sorry… I didn't realize that part would be painful for you. And…" He paused again, and when he resumed speaking she could hear fear in his voice, fear he was trying so hard to bury but couldn't, not completely. "You're still… that is… you don't already regret this?"

"Of course not." She blushed and smiled at him. "Not at _all_, don't worry!" She flung her arms around him and hugged him even tighter than before. "Th-thank you, Fakir, thank you so much! A-and, um… y-you'll be by my side to help me adjust to all this, right?"

"Of course I will." Fakir slipped his arms around her to return her embrace, and stroked her damp hair a little. "I wouldn't abandon you." Not now, not _ever_, not unless she asked him to leave her.

"Good, I - I'm glad." She closed her eyes as they held each other, and tried wiggling her new tail a little. It felt a bit strange, but good. She could hear the soft sound of Fakir's breathing in her ear, and they were pressed so close together that she could feel his heart beating; it made her think again of what the fortune teller had said, and she wondered if he could feel _her_ heart, if he'd noticed that it had suddenly started pounding right now at the thought of what she wanted to ask him, what she needed to tell him. "Fakir?"

"Yeah?" A curious frown appeared on his face as Ahiru pulled back, just enough to look up at him. "What is it?"

"I, um… I think I _would_ like to tell you what the fortune-teller said." She swallowed, and took a deep breath. "She um… she said… she said that I… that the heart of the one I love already belongs to me."

"… Oh." What was she saying? She couldn't be… "I didn't… that is… do you know if it's true?" He tried to sound as casual as possible, to pretend that his own heart wasn't racing, that butterflies weren't filling his stomach, that his brain was functioning properly.

"I don't know yet, but, um… y-you could tell me." Ahiru took a deep breath. "Cause, cause I… the person I love is… it's… I - I love _you_." She swallowed audibly. "So, so um… is - is it true?" She supposed she should've made sure of this _before_ her transformation, but really, even if her fortune was wrong things would still be okay. Well, all right, it would hurt, there was no denying _that_, but it wouldn't make her regret her choice, because it hadn't all been about the hope of being with him in that way.

"… Yes." Fakir took a shaky breath and nodded. "It is. I…" He reached out a trembling hand to touch her cheek. "I love you."

The expression on her face as the words left his mouth was the happiest he'd ever seen there, and indeed it was the happiest she'd ever felt, in all her life. Ahiru found she couldn't speak for sheer joy, and neither could he, and so they communicated their feelings without words, by pressing close again and kissing. She tasted the salt of the sea on his soft lips, but in the back of her dazed brain thought to herself that despite that his kiss was so _sweet_, so gentle and warm and a little shy at first before their love and desire deepened it.

The sun had started to sink into the sky by the time they finished kissing each other, and in its dying light they took each other's hands and swam down, down, down under the water, down to their new life together.


	4. Chapter 4: Dark (Aquarium AU)

The door opened as easily as it always did, but Ahiru somehow felt like it should've given them more trouble, like they should've had to jiggle it or use a credit card or something. She had to remind herself that they weren't breaking in, that it was perfectly legal for them to be here, they _worked_ here and weren't up to anything bad or wrong. It was okay. But even so, it didn't stop her feeling like they were on some kind of thrilling caper.

Fakir looked over as he opened the door to see her practically bouncing up and down on her little toes, and smiled. "Have you ever been in here this late?"

"Nope!" Ahiru shook her head. "I always just leave when my shift's over and go home, I've never done this before… I know it's okay to, but it's kinda exciting, like we're not supposed to be here or we're having an adventure or something… does that sound silly?"

"Not at all." He shook his head, still smiling. "Come on, let's go." He held the door open for her, and she beamed as she walked in. She stopped before she got very far, though, and looked back at him; when he'd caught up, she immediately took his hand in hers and tugged him along.

It was much darker inside than it was during the daytime, but there was still enough dim lighting for them to see well enough by to get them to the aquarium café without tripping or bumping into things (of the two Ahiru was definitely the clumsier one, but Fakir wasn't immune to accidents either, especially when things were too dark). They chose one of the longer tables, and set the picnic basket down on one side so they could take out the food Ahiru had made (Fakir did most of the cooking at home, but Ahiru insisted on taking her turns too, and since she'd suggested this date she'd felt that this was definitely one of them) and the flameless candles she'd packed in with it. Fakir switched the candles on and arranged them while Ahiru set out their dinner, and then they both sat down across from each other to eat.

"Are you having fun so far?" Ahiru asked midway through. Fakir hadn't been at all hesitant about this date idea, but she still wanted to make sure it was working out.

"Yeah." Fakir smiled and rubbed his foot against hers under the table. "It was a great idea. Thank you."

Ahiru blushed. "N-no, thank _you_, thank you for agreeing to try my weird date idea and everything, I'm glad you're enjoying it, I - I hope it stays fun…"

"I don't think it's so weird. And anyway…" Fakir reached across the table and took Ahiru's free hand. "I'm with you. Of course it'll stay fun."

Ahiru blushed harder at that and giggled. "Eeee… Fakir…" She rubbed her foot against his leg, and they kept on at that as they finished eating. It had been a lot of work, all the more so because their apartment had such a small kitchen, but she'd made a meal she was proud of, and it was gratifying to see Fakir clearly enjoying her food.

After they were done, they packed everything back into the basket, but left it on the table to take home later; the cleaning staff weren't due in till the next day, when the aquarium was closed, so they didn't have to worry about it being moved. Ahiru took Fakir's hand again once they were both ready to head off, and led him in the direction she wanted to go.

"Where are we going first?" Fakir smiled, content to be led along by Ahiru. She looked even more adorable than usual tonight: she had her long hair in a waterfall braid down her back, and was wearing a duck-patterned sweater dress that was too big for her, which had the effect of making her look even tinier than she already was.

"Over here!" Ahiru gave his hand another gentle tug, and hurried down the hall to a little room - well, more of an alcove, really - where the entire back wall was a huge tank full of waving seaweed and countless tropical fish. She pressed her nose up against the glass and watched with rapt attention as the fish swam around. "Wow… they're so pretty…"

Fakir's first instinct was to say "not as pretty as you are", but he didn't want to interrupt her when she was so fascinated by watching the fish. So he kept quiet, and let go of her hand only so that he could slip his arm around her shoulders and watch along with her. She knew more of the names of the fish than he did, and eagerly pointed out every one that drifted by in the dimly lit water. Her enthusiasm was so cute that he found himself hugging her a little tighter out of sheer affection every time her face lit up at a particular fish.

Once they'd looked enough at that, it was time to head off to another section. Just around the corner was a cavernous room filled with tanks of various sizes that showcased all sorts of other creatures. "Oooh! The jellyfish!" Ahiru clapped her hands together excitedly as she hurried towards the row of jellyfish tanks, grabbing Fakir's fingers and tugging him along. "Look, aren't they pretty? I mean, I know they'd be really bad to meet in the actual ocean and stuff, I'd be afraid of getting stung, but they LOOK so pretty, especially the bioluminescent ones, I love that…"

"They are, yeah." Fakir leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I actually read recently… I forget now where it is, but there's a place where the jellyfish don't sting at all and you can swim with them without worrying about that."

"Wh-what? Really?" Ahiru turned to look up at him with wide eyes. "I - I never heard of that before! I want to go there and swim with them! Do you? Would you go with me?"

"Silly duck, of course I would." He kissed her nose, and she giggled. "Let's do some research tomorrow and start saving our money up."

"Okay!" She beamed up at him, and then returned her attention to the jellyfish in the tanks. "Oh, that'll be so fun… oh, and, have you ever touched one when they have the person here that shows you how to safely do that? I was here the other day on my lunch break and I got in line with all these kids and they were so happy and I was happy too. It felt kinda weird and squishy, but I liked it. As long as you only touch the top you're okay." She paused, and her eyes lit up again. "I - I know! We should bring Uzura here to do that sometime, I bet she'd really like that!"

"I know she would." Fakir smiled. Uzura was his much-younger sister, and she was developing a keen interest in the ocean and undersea life, thanks partly to what her older brother did for a living. "We'll definitely bring her here sometime to do that, if our parents haven't done it already."

"Hmmmm… well, they probably have, but I bet she'd really have the most fun with _you_," Ahiru said. "She adores her big brother, after all."

"And with you as well," Fakir pointed out. "She adores you too." In fact, she kept asking him when he and Ahiru were going to get married, which made him blush and, lately, say "hopefully soon".

"Awwww, yeah, I really love her too." Ahiru's smile widened. "I'd love to see her face when she touched one and take her around in here. I - I know I work here, but I never get sick of it. I guess it's a good thing I wanted to do this when I grew up…"

"I know what you mean." Fakir squeezed her hand, and then they kept walking after a few more minutes of admiring the jellyfish. Tanks full of seahorses and sea urchins were just beyond that, and then a large one with an octopus inside who peered back at them as Ahiru leaned close to the glass.

"Poor thing, I think he likes it at night much better," Ahiru said as she watched the octopus emerge from a hiding place between the rocks in his tank. "During the day there are so many people tapping on the glass and taking so many pictures, I feel sorry for him when they do that and he gets all scared and hides and changes color."

"Yeah." Fakir sighed. "I wish people would learn not to tap on glass and scare animals, and to show some sense and not all take pictures at once. So many people just don't _think_."

"Yeah… it's really sad." Ahiru frowned for a moment, and then smiled and waved at the octopus before moving on. "Oooh… these are cool too…" She paused to admire the chambered nautilus in the smaller tank in the center of the room, with one containing a giant isopod right next to it.

"Ugh." Fakir shuddered. "The isopods are so gross-looking."

"Awww, don't say that, they'll hear!" Ahiru leaned closer to peer at it. "I know they look kinda weird, but they can't help it. They're kinda like big ocean bugs…"

"Exactly." Fakir shuddered again, and was intensely relieved when they moved on to the nudibranchs around the corner. "I like these much better," he said as they drew near.

"Oh, me too!" Ahiru pressed her face and both hands to the glass as she looked at them, her eyes lighting up again. "They're all so pretty! They're one of my favorites… well, I mean, I have a lot of favorites, I know, but they're definitely one of them."

"Mine too." He smiled and leaned close to her, both to better see the colorful mollusks in the tank and to simply be closer to her. Ahiru seemed to sense this secondary motivation, or at least shared it, and leaned close to him too. Being with him made her so _happy_.

Next came the sea dragon tanks, which they stayed at for a long while to admire and marvel at. They both favored the leafy ones, but agreed that they were all magnificent. And after they were done seeing everything else in the room they proceeded to the door at the far end, which led to a long glass tunnel.

"Wow…" Ahiru's eyes sparkled as she stepped forward. No matter how many times she came in here, she always looked at it with fresh wonder. Countless fish, as well as sharks, rays, eels, and even sea turtles, swam about in the faintly illuminated tank on both sides of them and above their heads. It was a magical place during the day, and somehow even more enchanting at night, alone here with Fakir. She reached back to squeeze his hand with her tiny fingers as she stared around at everything there was to see.

"It's one of my favorite rooms too." Fakir walked up behind Ahiru as she moved closer to one of the walls of the tunnel, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her head. "It feels like we're down in the ocean."

"Yeah…" Ahiru's eyes followed a moray eel as it slithered out from between some rocks, and then her attention was caught by a huge sea turtle gliding by overhead. "Oh wow… I love sea turtles…"

"Me too." He couldn't help but look at Ahiru's reflection in the glass, though, and when her gaze drifted downwards again she noticed that. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the look of quiet happiness and deep love on his face, and she brought her hands up to lay over his arms where he held her and squeeze them, meeting his eyes with an expression of equal joy and adoration.

They remained in the tunnel for a long while in comfortable silence, simply holding each other and taking in all that they could see before moving on. At the other end awaited a room full of tanks containing various crustaceans of all sizes, and Ahiru once again had to stop and admire every one, particularly the mantis shrimp, expressing her desire to see all the colors it could see. Past that were the seals and sea lions, neither of which Ahiru particularly liked because to her they looked mean and sounded creepy and she knew some seals ate penguins and she knew they had to in order to survive, but she just felt so sorry for the poor penguins, and she loved penguins because they were so cute and funny. She rambled about that the whole time they walked through, and Fakir merely smiled fondly as he listened to her, speaking only to assure her that even if it was weird to feel that way, it was okay because everyone was weird in their own ways and anyway he preferred the penguins too.

"And here's your room!" Ahiru said excitedly, bouncing up and down on her feet again as they proceeded into the room that contained the animals Fakir worked with. "I love this one so much!"

"Yeah." Fakir smiled as he looked at her, and then around at the room itself. On both sides of the room, thick glass separated them from the habitats of sea and river otters. "So do I."

As Ahiru walked over to one side, a pair of sea otters drifted by, their hands clasped together as they slept. Her eyes lit up and she beamed at the sight. "Awwww… that's so cute! That's so cute how they do that, I love it!"

"Yeah." As if by pure instinct, Fakir reached out and took Ahiru's hand as he watched the otters with her. "They do that so they won't lose each other while they're sleeping… it's more useful out in the ocean than here in a smaller, enclosed environment, but they do it anyway."

"I'm glad, cause it looks so adorable." Ahiru smiled up at him, and squeezed his hand. "I love otters, they're so cute." It was fitting, in her opinion, that Fakir worked with them. Not just because they were adorable and she thought he was adorable too, but because he reminded her of one. Not physically, but because not only did they hold hands a lot when they were awake, but every night when they went to bed he always fell asleep holding her hand, and she sometimes wondered if he'd picked it up from watching the otters he took care of here. It was a little sad in a way, because after losing his biological parents at a young age he probably did subconsciously fear losing loved ones, but it was also sweet and otter-like and she was more than happy to give him that comfort in his sleep, especially since it was soothing for her too.

They watched the otters for a long time before finally moving on. The door at the end of the room led not to another room, but to the outside area with the shark and ray tanks and the habitats for various birds. Neither one of them much cared for sharks so they walked past that without taking much time, and then stopped for a while at the penguin area. Most of the penguins were napping, but a few were up late and swimming around, which delighted Ahiru.

It was a cool night, but not too cold, and the aquarium was in a quiet enough part of the city they lived in that they could actually see some stars overhead as they drew near to the section containing the ducks. "And here we are at your area," Fakir said softly as they reached it. "I love it here too." He'd never forget taking a break one day and coming over to see the ducks - his favorite bird by far - only to wind up meeting the sweet new girl who was in charge of their care. He'd instantly been smitten with her, but back then he'd never dreamed that they'd be as happy as they were now.

"Me too!" Ahiru smiled, and her mind drifted back to that first meeting too, to the early days of their relationship. Fakir was so quiet and reticent around people, and a lot of their coworkers found him intimidating and made remarks behind his back about how "anti-social" he was, but something about him had instantly drawn her to him when she saw him standing by the ducks that day (though admittedly it didn't hurt that he was ridiculously good-looking). He'd been so shy and awkward at first, but once he'd had encouragement from her he'd relaxed and started opening up, and made an effort at getting to know her. That had surprised the people around them who'd never seen him go out of his way to talk to anyone he didn't already know well. And as she got to know _him_ and they started dating - their first date had been a shared lunch in the café here, so simple yet so full of magic and sparks - she'd learned more and more about what a sweet, gentle dork he really was under the surface. It had been impossible to help falling in love with him, and to have him fall for her too was unspeakably wonderful. "They've always been my favorite bird… I'm so glad I get to work with them."

"So am I." They watched the ducks together - some were asleep, and others, like the recently hatched ruddy ducklings, were awake and active - for a long while before Fakir found the courage to speak again. "Ahiru?"

"Yeah, Fakir?" She turned away from the ducks to look at him with curiosity in her little face. His voice sounded different, and what she could see of his expression in the dark indicated that he was trying to hide something, or maybe to control some emotion overwhelming him.

"I… well… we, we…" Fakir found himself stumbling over his words and had to take a few deep breaths to steady himself, his heart beating uncomfortably fast. "I - I know we've talked about it a couple times, but… but we never really finished the conversation for - for different reasons, so… so I wanted to know…" He swallowed hard. "Ahiru, I… I love you, and I want to stay with you forever… do you want to stay with me forever too?"

"Fakir… I… are you… are you asking me to… to…" Ahiru's voice failed her as a lump formed in her throat.

"Yes." He nodded. "Would you want to?"

"I… oh, Fakir! Of course! Of course I would! Of course I do!" Happy tears filling her eyes, Ahiru leapt at him, throwing her arms around him and holding him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and held her just as tightly, and a little sob of joy escaped her as she pressed her face against him. "I love you too, of course I wanna be with you forever… forever and ever and _ever_…" Thoughts rushed through her brain - she would invite her friends, and ask Rue to be her maid of honor, and Uzura would be her flower girl, and where should they have it? Oh, there were so many decisions to make… but they had plenty of time, she reminded herself, and they didn't have to do it all right now.

"I'm glad." Fakir closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm… so glad…" They held each other for several happy minutes, and then he reluctantly pulled back and reached a shaking hand into his pocket. "I also… well… I didn't get you a real one, because I thought you should pick out something you're going to wear a lot, something so important… but I still wanted to have a ring for you, so I got this in the gift shop on my break."

"Oh?" Ahiru's hands were trembling too as she took the small paper bag from him. Opening it up revealed a cute little gold ring with a duckling on it, whose blue eye twinkled up at her in the moonlight. "Oh! Oh, Fakir… I…" She clutched it to her heart as she beamed up at him with fresh tears of joy sparkling in her eyes. "I - I love it! I want _this_ to be my engagement ring, it's perfect, I don't need anything else!"

"Really?" Fakir's own eyes widened with surprise. "You - you don't want something nicer? This is just something inexpensive from the gift shop…"

"It's _perfect!_" Ahiru insisted. "_Because_ it's from the gift shop, and because it's a duck! That's much better and more important to me than some fancy thingy from a mall jewelry store. This one… this is _me_, and how we met here… it's so perfect…"

"… You're right." Fakir smiled. "It _is_ perfect."

And so, they would agree for all the years in their lives to come, was that night.


End file.
